First Crow Wing Lake
Hubbard County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 29008600
DNR records show 4 stocking entries at First Crow Wing Lake since 2018, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (902 fish).
- First Crow Wing Lake has 4 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2018-2025): walleye (4).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 12,444 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 15 ft, mean depth 4 ft; surface area 522 acres, 522 littoral acres, 4.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, and 5 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Hubbard County, nearest town Hubbard; DNR lake number (DOW) 29008600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 1/10/1940 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | yearlings | 902 | 398.8 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 4,232 | 318.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,768 | 390.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 542 | 391.0 |
Field note · Minnesota stocks by year, not by truck day: walleye fry go in within weeks of ice-out, fingerlings and yearlings mostly in fall, and stream trout in spring and fall. A row here means the fish went in during that year; DNR adds the year's rows after the fact, so the current year can look empty until winter.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | On Crow Wing River upstream of dam |
| CA | Minnesota DNR | Undeveloped carry-in access located on the northwest shore of the lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Special trap nets | 36.33 | 218 | 0.23 |
| Black crappie | Special trap nets | 1.00 | 6 | 0.39 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 25.00 | 225 | 0.33 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.22 | 38 | 0.39 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.11 | 19 | 1.26 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 1.87 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 1.16 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 1.68 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 2.72 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 4.27 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 14.33 | 86 | 1.05 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 14.17 | 85 | 2.07 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 8.67 | 52 | 0.39 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 8.00 | 48 | 2.71 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 6.67 | 40 | 0.26 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 1.40 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 2.45 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 6 | 0.12 |
Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.
First Crow Wing Lake is located seven miles east of Hubbard in southern Hubbard County. First Crow Wing is part of a chain of lakes running from Eleventh Crow Wing Lake at the headwaters, down to First Crow Wing Lake. First Crow Wing Lake has a surface area of 522 acres and a maximum depth of 15 feet. A DNR-owned public access is located south of the lake on the Crow Wing River, off County Road 109. A DNR-owned undeveloped access for carry-in craft, and winter access is located on the northwest shore of the lake as part of the Crow Wing Chain Wildlife Management Area. Boating access is also available from the Crow Wing River connecting it to Second Crow Wing Lake, although the river can be very shallow with dense stands of wild rice. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. First Crow Wing Lake is in Lake Class 39. Class 39 lakes are generally shallow with a high littoral area (less than 15 feet in depth), and a regularly shaped shoreline. Other class 39 lakes in the Park Rapids area include: Fourth Crow Wing, Ham, Hennepin, Loon, Minnie, Paine, Peysenski, Portage, Rice, Shallow, Upper Twin, Wolf, Hungryman and Stocking. First Crow Wing Lake supports a healthy panfish population and can provide good fishing for Black Crappie and Bluegill. Black Crappie abundance was up, but still moderate numbers compared to other local lakes. Most of the crappies were 8 - 9 inches. With fish up to 12.2 inches. Bluegills were sampled in good numbers, similar to past surveys. Anglers will find most Bluegill and Pumpkinseed in the 5.5 - 9-inch size range. A special regulation of a daily limit of 5 for Bluegill was implemented in 2022. The objective of the lowered bag limit is to spread out the harvest and allow for more fish to attain larger sizes (8-10 inches). Summer sampling show Largemouth Bass were good sized and moderate numbers. They had an average length of 14.3 inches, with fish sampled up to 17 inches. Anglers can expect to find an abundant population of Northern Pike in First Crow Wing Lake. Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 21 inches and 2 pounds, with the largest measured at 31.5 inches in 2024. Walleyes were found in low numbers but were generally a nice size. They had an average length of 18 inches, with fish sampled up to 27 inches. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for both Walleye and Northern Pike were sampled in low numbers. No perch over 8 inches were sampled, making most fish too small for anglers. First…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02; contours are the DNR bathymetric survey. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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